


Just One More Time

by PeacefulPhoenix



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Angst, Arguing, Break Up, FAHC, Fake AH Crew, Implied Raychael but not the focus, M/M, Raywood, There's really not much to be said in the tags about this one, Unhealthy Relationships, ray leaving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-31 00:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8556079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeacefulPhoenix/pseuds/PeacefulPhoenix
Summary: Ray's gone. He disappeared in the middle of a heist and no one knows where the fuck he went. Gavin's convinced that he's dead, Michael's convinced that he's not, and Ryan's pretty damn torn.





	

There was a point after hours of stress and far too many glasses of whisky that everything in the world seemed to fade away. Frustrated yelling and the stomping of feet blended together into one unintelligible mass of meaningless sound. 

Ryan found himself longing for that ability to dissociate himself from all the madness. To stare pensively into the distance, tattooed fingers tapping rhythmically on a rocks glass like their boss. To pretend that he didn’t give a rat’s ass of the utter mess the crew had found itself in. 

“Maybe you scared him off! We planned on a couple explosives to block off the police, not bringing a damn building down across the street! We were almost bloody killed!” Gavin shouted, golden chain around his neck flying to the side as he gestured wildly. 

“Yeah well maybe he just didn’t want to see your dumb fucking face again,” Michael fired back without a moment of hesitation. “Not my fault you almost got hit anyways. You were supposed to be out of there 5 minutes before the explosions even went off.”

“But I told you that we weren’t!” Gavin stomped his foot on the ground as he spoke. “You knew we were behind schedule and you blew the damn thing anyways!” 

Michael looked to Jack who shrugged and nodded at the same time. They had in fact called out that they were behind schedule. Scoffing and turning back to Gavin, Michael continued on as if it changed nothing. “Who fucking cares! We’re all alive aren’t we? Besides, it’s not like Ray was on that building anyways so why the hell would that have scared him off?” 

Gavin ripped off his sunglasses and for once, looked him straight in the eyes. “Because you’re out of control, Michael! It might not have happened this time but one day you’re gonna blow one of us the hell up! Everyone knows it! That’s why no one wants to partner with you. We’re scared you’re going to get us killed!” All three gents perked up at that, wide eyes fixing on Gavin then snapping to Michael when he answered almost immediately. They were both treading dangerously close to crossing some lines they really shouldn’t step over.

“Bullshit, Gav! Ray partnered with me all the time and so does Ryan.” Always one to talk with his hands, Michael motioned aggressively at the Vagabond who was really not keen on being thrust into the spotlight like this. 

Gavin scoffed and visibly rolled his eyes. “As if either of them believe they’re really mortal.” 

Feeling obligated to say something with Michael, Jack, and Geoff still watching him, Ryan interjected, “I’ve got a dozen gunshot wounds that got close to showing me that’s not accurate.” Thankfully, that got them to lose interest for now.

“That’s not the point,” Gavin mumbled in response, arms crossing over his chest. 

“But it is the point,” Michael followed up immediately, leaning forward and stretching out his arms to either side of him like he’d won already. “You’re wrong, Gavin! He didn’t fucking leave because he was scared of me! He probably just got cut off by police and hasn’t had a chance to get in touch.”

“It’s been days. He knows the burner numbers to call. There’s been no police chatter on the radio. He hasn’t just been cut off. He’s gone, Michael. Ray’s gone.” For the first time in the whole argument it sounded like Gavin was trying to be gentle. Trying and not quite succeeding.

“He’ll come back,” Michael insisted, arms dropping to his side. 

They were speaking more with their eyes now than their words. It was a special language the lads had always seemed to have, one that let them communicate nonverbally. Hell, it seemed downright telepathic sometimes because they could coordinate plans from across the city from each other without a word through the coms. All the gents could do was guess at what they were missing. 

“He won’t,” Gavin replied, shrugging. 

Michael gritted his teeth and his lips pushed into a perfect line. “He always comes back,” he forced out.

“But he hasn’t.”

Hands curling into fists now, he took a step forward. “The fuck are you implying?”

“You know what I’m implying,” Gavin replied, head held high and chest puffed out. 

Ryan could feel Jack and Geoff look to him before he glanced over to confirm. Michael and Gavin were too caught up in each other to think about everyone else in the room but it was no secret Ray and Ryan had been close. If by close you meant sleeping together. No one had ever said anything about it but there was no doubt everyone knew. 

Heat crept up Ryan’s neck and he looked away. He couldn’t take the concerned look on Jack’s face or the calculating one on Geoff’s. They were waiting for him to break and say something. To show some kind of sadness or fear or pain. He was determined to do nothing of the sort. 

“He’s not fucking dead. Don’t you ever even fucking suggest that. Don’t you dare.”

“Michael…” Gavin growled. Or, well, as close to a growl as he could get which is to say almost nothing like one. 

There was only about a foot separating them now and both seemed to fronting like they were daring the other to make the first move. “I don’t wanna fucking hear it. He’s gonna walk through that door any day now,” Michael promised, challenge to oppose him clear.

Gavin was never one to turn down a challenge. “He’s dead and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can stop acting like a complete tosser!” 

There’s was roughly 5 seconds of thick, electric silence. Fire burned in Michael’s eyes and Gavin actually recoiled a step. Ryan managed to get up out of his chair and put himself between the two only half a second before Michael leapt towards him. 

The impact sent Ryan stumbling back a couple steps but he recovered quickly and spun Michael around so his back to pressed to the Vagabond’s chest, with his arms wrapped around Michael to keep him from wiggling his way out of it. “Stop struggling and don’t do something you’re going to regret,” Ryan warned. 

For nearly a minute straight, the struggle continued, grunts or colorful expletives spewed forth nearly constantly by Michael. Ryan didn’t budge no matter how loudly he screamed or how brutally he kicked his shin. Only when he finally seemed to get it all out did Ryan let him go. “You going to be okay?” Ryan asked gently, hand out to steady Michael as he swayed back and forth. 

“I’ll be fine as long as someone gets Gavin the fuck out of my sight.” Ryan nodded and quickly turned to a cowering Gavin, firmly grabbing his arm and pulling him towards his own room without another word. Squawks of protest filled the air but everyone ignored them. 

Only when they were safely shut away in Gavin’s room away from Michael did Ryan stop moving and let go. “That wasn’t very nice, Rye bread,” Gavin complained, rubbing his arm then straightening his shirt. 

Shrugging nonchalantly, Ryan walked to an armchair Gavin had shoved in the corner. He draped himself out over it, looking entirely too relaxed for the situation. “You weren’t being very nice either, were you?” His voice sounded uninterested but the look he fixed Gavin with showed he was anything but. 

“Don’t give me that.” Gavin strolled over to his bed and fell onto it, stretching out and wiggling around until he got comfortable and looked appropriately languid. Kind of ruined the effect when one could see all the effort he went to trying to find the right position. “You know I’m right. Ray’s dead. Michael just won’t admit it.”

“You’re forgetting Michael wasn’t the only one who loved him,” Ryan warned, shoulders tense and the blue in his eyes seeming icier than ever. “Unless you saw his body, you shut your mouth, understand?” Gavin nodded quickly, posture deflating a bit. Good. He could take being knocked down a few rungs.

Gavin’s fingers bunched up the silk sheets before him, letting go then doing it again, for about 30 seconds before abandoning the act and just sitting up cross legged. A pillow from the headboard found it’s way into his arms and suddenly he looked a lot smaller and more defenseless than his Golden Boy persona usually allowed for. “I cared about him too, ya know. It’s not the Lads without Ray.”

He avoided meeting Ryan’s eyes this time and he couldn’t blame him. “Yeah, I know. Just let us figure out what really happened before you go making claims like that.” As soon as everything settled he’d go talk to the other gents about trying to track him down. Chances are nothing would come of it. Ray had always been one of the most distant of the lot. If he didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be. 

Against his thigh, his phone buzzed weakly. Assuming it was Jack or Geoff, he let it go. Until it happened again. Rolling his eyes he pulled it out. The name he saw on screen made him freeze up and his mouth go dry. “You okay, Ryan?” Gavin asked, apparently feeling brave enough to try to catch his gaze. 

“Yeah, uh… I’m fine,” Ryan mumbled in reply, not looking up from his screen. 

_R &R Connection Pt. 2: 51st and Royal parking lot. 1 hour._   
_R &R Connection Pt. 2: Bring a car. _

“I gotta go. You should probably stay in here for a while. Don’t start shit while I’m gone.”

Gavin’s protest of, “But Ryan!” were drowned out by the sound of the door to the rest of the penthouse slamming shut. 

_*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*_

Steam clung to the class windows of the car, born of heavy breath and fevered skin. Closed off from the rest of the world, the pair in the car seemed lost in their own reality, one without time, obligations, or other humans. All that mattered was the way they fit together with a well-practiced familiarity, stretched out across the backseat. Lips parted for only a second or two before rejoining again. Each clung to the jacket of the other as if letting go would mean losing them forever. It would’ve been a silly, delusional notion had it not been a legitimate possibility. 

Upon Ryan’s realization of just that, the firm grip of Ray’s purple hoodie that had once kept him close now pushed him away. His eyes fixed on the swollen and face-paint stained lips still only inches from him. He wanted to chase them with his own again so badly. But no, he couldn’t. 

“We need to stop,” he croaked instead, clearing his throat after realizing just how trashed his voice had gotten. 

Reluctantly, Ray sat up, glancing around to try to find some way to get comfortable. It quickly became clear there wasn’t really any good options, what with Ryan’s legs just barely bent to account for the width of the car, so he did his best to look casual and nonchalant despite himself. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” he responded, sounding almost bored at the interruption. 

Groaning as he did so, Ryan pushed Ray off his lap and into one of the seats, sitting up himself in the process. “Because you’re gone. You left the crew and unless you plan on coming back, we can’t do this.” Ray took the displacement with a less than elegant huff, squirming around until he had his back against the door and a joint between his fingers. “Don’t. This is Geoff’s car. He’ll-” He lit up before Ryan had a chance to finish speaking. 

“If he asks, just tell him to come suck my dick.” To the untrained ear and eye, his voice and posture might seem on par for his usual self. Ryan could tell the difference though. Heard the edge in his voice and saw the tensing in his shoulders. “Who cares what Geoff thinks anyways. Not like there’s some stupid rule that you can’t date outside the crew,” Ray grumbled, taking a drag then blowing the smoke towards the driver’s seat. 

Ryan waved his hand through the air, dispelling some of the smoke that had drifted his way. “You know that’s not what this is about. You aren’t just not part of the crew. You left, Ray. Without a word. I’ve haven’t seen Michael and Gavin this at each others’ throats in a long time, arguing about whether you’re dead or not. Hell, until you texted me, I didn’t even know.” There was a long pause in which Ryan waited for something, anything from Ray. Surely he’d heard the way that his voice wobbled and almost cracked in that last sentence. When he got nothing, he couldn’t help but shake his head and slump back against the chair. “Please just come back with me.”

It was an empty plea. They both knew it. Even if he did come back, there was no guarantee he’d still be welcome. The lack of communication and inopportune timing had left for a messy break. “You know I can’t.” The way the thumb of his right hand ran over the LADS tattooed across his left knuckles left Ryan unsure if he was trying to convince himself or dissuade Ryan. Either way, it hung heavy in the air, going unanswered. 

“We could just keep this going in secret. If they think I’m dead then they wouldn’t need to know,” Ray mentioned after about five minutes of silence. “You’ve always been creepy anyways so they wouldn’t even question you sneaking off.” His eyes looked directly into Ryan’s now like some sort of challenge. 

One he was quick to turn down. “I won’t do it. I’m not going to lie to them.”

Ray snorted, this time blowing his smoke directly in Ryan’s direction. “Because the crew comes before all else, right? Isn’t that what Ramsey always says? And it’s not like he’d ever lie to any of you.” He didn’t wait for an answer before carrying on. “Fuck the crew. We were good together. Still could be. Not like we haven’t both done mercenary work. Could make our own crew.”

Ryan didn’t need to say anything, didn’t want to. They both knew it wasn’t gonna happen but he couldn’t bring himself to say no. There was too much finality in no and neither of them were ready to actually say goodbye. 

“How about one last make-out sesh in the back of the boss’ car then, huh? For old times sake,” Ray suggested, not sounding entirely excited by the idea but Ryan knew him well enough to see how bad he wanted it. And he should’ve said no. He should have kicked Ray out, driven back home, and come clean. But he didn’t. 

Instead, he nodded, pulled Ray back into his lap, and let his back fall to the car seat again. There would be plenty of time to deal with the regret when he got back to the penthouse.

**Author's Note:**

> I might put out another chapter but idk if I can commit to that. Chances are if people like it, I'll work on it more. So, hope you enjoyed!


End file.
